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Woman tortures stepson, 12, to death

…Claims he committed suicideFrom TUNDE RAHEEM AkureThe cat has been let out of the bag for Mrs Rukayat Osisi who claimed that Awwal Osisi, her 12-year-old stepson hanged himself. Neighbours who witnessed how she tortured the boy to death exposed the heinous act.

Rukayyat was detained at the homicide section of the State Central Investigation Department, SCID, Ondo State Police Command, after her neightbours reported the death of the boy to the police. The police doubted her claim that the boy committed suicide.

Rukayat, a petty trader, caused pandemonium in the neighbourhood when she raised the alarm that Awwal hanged himself in one of the rooms in family house, located on Omi-Eja Street, off Alamoye Road, close to Akure High School, Akure, Ondo State. Awwal’s mother had divorced his father, a mobile policeman based in Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State.

But two neigbours, one Taye Adegoke and a woman who identified herself simply as Roseline who had on occasions cautioned the woman over the way she viciously beat Awwal disagreed with her and escorted her to the police station so that she would not run away. Roseline said that Rukayat treated the boy like a slave.

Roseline said she overheard Rukayat threatening to kill the boy, and she warned her to desist from maltreating the boy. Rather than heed the advice, she claimed that Rukayat threatened to deal with her for interfering.

Roseline said: “Not quite long after she politely walked me out of her apartment, she cried out that her stepson who is the only male child of her husband had hanged himself. So I smelled a rat and vehemently disagreed with her when we saw the boy’s corpse and blood was oozing from his nose.”

The strange development, it was learnt, made the sympathizers to compel the Rukayat to report the case to the police. She, however, lied to the crowd that she had reported the case to the police at ‘A’ Division, claiming that the police promised they would come later. Apparently not satisfied with her claims, one of the sympathizers, Taiwo Adegoke volunteered to follow her to the police station.

Narrating the incident to Sunday Sun, Taiwo Adegoke, a brother to the landlord of the house, debunked the allegation that the young boy committed suicide by hanging as claimed by the stepmother.

His words: “Rukayat ran out and raised the alarm about 11.30 am that her stepson had hanged himself in one of the rooms. I told her to show me where she claimed the boy hanged himself. When I got there, I realised that the boy’s height was higher than the door “When I saw the rope that she said the boy used in hanging himself, I realised that it was just a bag strap which could not even go round the boy’s neck. Adegoke explained that Rukayat had earlier sent Awwal on an errand but he refused to go, and his refusal infuriated her, so she beat him; maybe the boy died in the process and the woman was looking for a way out, that was why she came up with the suicide story. How can a little boy just decide to terminate his life? On what basis?

“When she brought the body of the boy, the boy was already foaming and bleeding from his nose and mouth and the blood stains were still visible around the house passage.

“When we rushed the boy to the State Specialist Hospital, Akure the medical personnel requested for police report when she told them the same story of suicide. It was then we accompanied her to ‘A’ Division Police Station in Akure to report the case. It was then that the police detained her after hearing the story and suspecting foul play. If she can speak the truth I am sure the issue would be better resolved. But the boy did not hang himself in our house.”

Confirming the incident, Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO) ASP Wole Ogodo said crack detectives had investigated the case and all the facts showed that the boy did not commit suicide. He added that the case had been charged to court.